


anyone else but you

by violaceum_vitellina_viridis



Series: yule gift fics [13]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling, Disabled Deidre, Domestic, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kissing, Multi, Polyamory, Service Animals, Service Dogs, Slice of Life, Songfic, Triad relationship, Vignettes, everyone is soft, very vague though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28543680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violaceum_vitellina_viridis/pseuds/violaceum_vitellina_viridis
Summary: Vignettes in the lives of Yennefer, Renfri, and Deidre.
Relationships: Deidre Ademeyn/Renfri | Shrike, Deidre Ademeyn/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Renfri | Shrike/Deidre Ademeyn/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Renfri | Shrike/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: yule gift fics [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038730
Comments: 12
Kudos: 18





	anyone else but you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bamf_babe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bamf_babe/gifts).



> eyyyyy we're bringing songfics back - this one is Anyone Else but You by The Moldy Peaches. another song, So Nice So Smart by Kimya Dawson makes an appearance as well :D
> 
> for our personal shapeshifter aleia, who gave me a hell of a challenge writing these three without porn, w h o o p s lmao. hopefully it's still good and you like it, babe, because you deserve it 💜

_you’re a part-time lover and a full-time friend,  
the monkey on your back is the latest trend_

It’s easy to spot Deidre in the crowd – it always is. Deidre considers it a curse, but Yennefer thinks it’s a blessing; her height, bright blonde hair, and the two massive wolf-like service dogs that accompany her everywhere mean that all it ever takes is a quick look around to find her.

Of course, there’s more than just her Viking looks and the dogs that are making her stick out now. Yennefer smothers a giggle as she jogs through the milling crowd toward Deidre’s colorful form. The shirt is one of Renfri’s, Yennefer is pretty sure – especially judging by the skin of Deidre’s belly showing; the print itself is garish, meant to look like a punk venue wall with the collage of stickers, just even more colorful. Her jeans are probably Renfri’s, too, since they’re a little tight and cuffed, but the bag….

The bag is absolutely all Deidre.

Yennefer kind of wants to kiss her, but knows that here isn’t the place.

“What is that?” she asks, as she finally wades through the last of the crowd. Devil and Banshee make short, sharp noises before they realize it’s just Yennefer and settle back down; all the same, Yennefer gives them a wide berth, waiting for Deidre to invite her into the circle they’ve created around her.

Invitation comes with Deidre holding her hand out. Yennefer takes it and lets herself be pulled into a quick, tight hug. “What is what?”

“The…is it a backpack?” Yennefer tugs lightly at one of the straps.

“Oh!” Deidre beams, and slips the bag from her back – it is a backpack, Yennefer can see now, but it’s…. It’s a monkey. It has a head. “It’s new! Apparently it’s some cartoon character, I’m not sure, but I thought it was super cute. What do you think?”

 _I think the bag is hideous,_ Yennefer thinks, grinning. _But you –_ you’re _adorable._ “Trendsetter,” she declares, and giggles when Deidre turns bright pink.

* * *

_I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of a train,  
I kiss you all starry-eyed, my body's swinging from side to side_

Meeting up with Renfri is always a treat, considering how much of a busybody she is; always going, always moving, it’s nigh on impossible to plan a proper date with her.

But she tries, and Yennefer appreciates that more than anything. Even if it means she has to take public transport to meet up for their lunch. The train is loud and crowded and the route doesn’t make much sense to her, but she knows what stop to get off at, and that’s the hardest part (according to Deidre, at least).

Renfri is waiting for her at the station, though, just like she promised. Yennefer grins and jogs across the platform, feeling flushed just seeing the little smile that lights up Renfri’s whole face.

“Yen,” she says, quiet but full of fondness, and the first kiss is a sweet, chaste little thing. Yennefer giggles into it, resting one hand lightly on Renfri’s waist, a perfectly respectable embrace considering Renfri’s hand on her shoulder, but Renfri is raising an eyebrow when she pulls back.

“What?” Yennefer asks, innocently, and Renfri snorts.

None of the kisses they share for the rest of the afternoon are anything resembling chaste or little. Yennefer’s _definitely_ not complaining.

* * *

_here is the church and here is the steeple,  
we sure are cute for two ugly people_

“I need a haircut,” Renfri complains, tugging at her curls.

Deidre laughs and gives a pointed pull at her own hair. “Same. Wanna help me, and I’ll help you?”

Renfri grins. “Sure!”

Devil and Banshee both twine around their legs the whole time while they gather scissors and towels and combs, but Renfri just laughs and pets at them, stopping in their preparation for a moment to play tug-of-war with Banshee. Deidre’s chest feels warm, and usually that would be a bad thing – she thinks – but right now, it feels _good._

And Devil isn’t alerting, so it should be just fine.

“Ah, you won!” Renfri says, sounding fondly exasperated as Banshee manages to get the rope toy away from her and frolics a few feet away with a playful growl. She turns back to Deidre. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Deidre nods and sits on the chair they dragged into the middle of the bathroom.

Renfri carefully arranges two towels around her shoulders, smoothing them down and making sure there’s no gaps between her skin and the terrycloth. Each little brush of Renfri’s fingertips over her skin makes Deidre shiver and smile a little wider, and when their eyes meet in the mirror, she’s _sure_ that Renfri notices.

“Tip your head back a little,” Renfri says. “Good girl.”

Deidre hardly notices the rest of the haircut, considering _that_ distraction.

But Renfri brings her back when it’s finished, leaning forward so their faces are right next to one another, eyes meeting in the mirror. “Cutie,” Renfri says, kissing Deidre’s cheek and giggling when Deidre blushes.

“You too,” Deidre says, quiet and a little uncertain. Renfri nuzzles her jaw and gives her another kiss, which makes Deidre feel squirmy. It’s not _bad,_ but…. “Okay, okay, your turn.”

“Of course.”

And when Banshee interrupts Renfri’s haircut for more tug-of-war, neither of them really mind. Later, when Renfri catches sight of her unevenly cut hair in the mirror, she gasps, and for a split second, Deidre’s worried – Devil licks at her hand with a little, concerned yelp – but then Renfri is grinning.

“It’s _perfect,_ ” she says, and Deidre feels her shoulders relax.

* * *

_the pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me,  
so why can’t you forgive me?_

She _hates_ it when they fight.

It happens so rarely, but she remembers each and every time in startling, sickening clarity, and she _hates_ it. Devil and Banshee are curled around her, both snuffling and licking at her face to clean the tears, trying to make her feel better, but it’s not _working._

Because nothing is going to work until they’re not fighting anymore. She _hates_ this. Hates it even more when it’s her fault, when she’s the one who messed up, and she never knows how to apologize.

Her phone rings.

Devil nudges it, leaving a wet smudge on the screen with his nose that ignores the call.

“ _Devil,_ ” Deidre groans, pushing his face away to grab the device. She wipes the smear off on her shirt and looks at the call log.

Yennefer, because _of course_ her fucking service dog would ignore a call from her – girlfriend? best friend? – when they’re fighting. “ _Devil._ ”

He whimpers softly and nuzzles her shoulder. She sighs and pets at his ears, then pets Banshee’s as well because she whines for the attention.

Her phone buzzes again. A voicemail.

Her breath catches. Banshee alerts for it, sitting up to nudge at her throat and whine, and she takes a quick, struggling breath, then another, and another.

“Good girl,” she praises absently, and pets over Banshee’s snout. Her finger trembles a little as she hits the speaker button and then _play_ on the voicemail.

“I’m still mad,” Yennefer’s voice filters out from her phone speakers, a little tinny but still familiar. Deidre’s heart aches. “But I don’t hate you, and we’ll talk about this tomorrow. I just don’t want you to think this – _we’re_ over, because of this. Okay? Just…. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I still love you, Dee. Drink some water.”

There’s a soft click as the recording ends. Deidre sucks in a deep, shaky breath, and Devil licks up some more of the tears that spill down her cheeks.

She saves the voicemail.

* * *

_I will find my niche in your car,  
with my MP3, DVD, rumble-packed guitar_

“Oh, no you don’t!” Yennefer is laughing even as she says it, eyes bright and grin wide.

Renfri giggles and swats at her hands. “Oh yes I do!” she replies, managing to plug in her MP3 player before Yennefer can stop her. The simple guitar starts, and Yennefer groans, but she’s still smiling, and she doesn’t move to eject the disc.

“I was quiet as a mouse, when I snuck into your house,” Renfri sings, intentionally obnoxious, and Yennefer groans again, but when the next verse starts, she’s singing along.

“You’re so nice and you’re so smart,” they sing together, and then burst into giggles.

An hour later, as they’re wandering through the mall, Yennefer is humming to herself, and Renfri crows in triumph, hopping up a few steps on the escalator to point down at her. “I know you like that song!”

Yennefer rolls her eyes. “I _don’t,_ ” she insists. “I like _you._ Even if you decide to wear a bunny suit.”

Renfri feels her cheeks flush red. “Oh.”

Yennefer laughs. “ _Oh,_ ” she agrees, and kisses the high spot of color on Renfri’s face before jogging up the rest of the steps and sweeping off to a new store.

Renfri trips over the end of the escalator. “ _Yen,_ ” she whines, and pretends she doesn’t love the laugh that filters back to her.

* * *

_we both have shiny-happy fits of rage,  
you want more fans, I want more stage_

Sometimes, the mood swings get the best of the both of them.

Deidre, though, she has Devil and Banshee. Renfri, well. She doesn’t have _anything._

The mug shatters, and Deidre jumps with a scream, and Renfri’s sudden spark of rage plummets straight into sickening guilt as Banshee growls at her, teeth bared.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she babbles, falling to her knees to gather up the pieces of the mug. “I’m – I didn’t mean to, I know, I know you can’t – _fuck,_ I’m sorry.”

Deidre’s breathing is shaky. “You didn’t mean it,” she says, and it sounds like she’s convincing _herself,_ and Renfri kind of wants to fade into the floor. Anything to get away from what a _stupid_ move throwing a mug was. If this were her apartment, if she were _alone,_ it would be _fine,_ but Deidre – she can’t _do shit like this,_ not around her.

Gods, Deidre has it hard enough.

Banshee growls again when Renfri moves too fast, and she stills with a slow, tight breath.

“Down, Banshee,” Deidre orders, even with her voice still shaky. Banshee whimpers but backs up, out of the kitchen, and Renfri keeps picking up the pieces of the mug. They go into the trash, and then she grabs the broom to sweep up the dust and littler bits, violently aware of where Deidre is behind her, still breathing oddly.

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, softly, and Deidre – _laughs._

When Renfri turns, she’s got her face in her hands but she’s smiling, wide and genuine even as the look her eyes says she’s confused about it.

“I – are you okay?” Deidre asks. Renfri looks down at her hands, where there are a few shallow knicks from the sharp edges of the mugs pieces.

She runs them under some lukewarm water and wipes them off on her jeans. “I’m fine,” she says, stunned to find it’s true. “Are you?”

One of Deidre’s hands drifts down to tangle into Devil’s fur, where he’s still standing guard next to her, tracking Renfri’s every move. “Yeah,” she says after a moment of petting him. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“Good.” Renfri nods, an odd sensation blooming in her chest. “That’s good.”

* * *

_you are always trying to keep it real,  
I’m in love with how you feel -   
I don’t know how anyone can see anything in anyone else  
but you._

Whenever they all get to be together, just the three of them, Deidre ends up in the middle.

Renfri is sure it’s comical, looking at them; Deidre, all six-feet of her, smushed into the middle of a queen bed with Renfri on one side, several inches shorter, and Yennefer on the other, just over half a foot shorter. Add in the dogs at the end of the bed, Banshee’s head on Devil’s backend as they both snore, and it completes a picture of domestic ridiculousness.

Not a single one of them, women or dogs, would change a single thing.

Yennefer considers making breakfast – or maybe brunch, it’s creeping closer to noon – but Renfri grabs her hand where it rests on Deidre’s belly, and Deidre herself hums, pleased, and turns to press a soft kiss to Renfri’s temple. Suddenly, all of Yennefer’s will to leave the bed is gone, warmth suffusing her at the sight of both of them so soft and safe, cuddled up in bed.

Deidre, for her part, feels safer here than anywhere else. Devil and Banshee at the end of the bed, Renfri on one side and Yennefer on the other, a large, heavy comforter to burrow under if she’d like. Their arms around her and hers around them, legs tangled together even as they all sweat with the heat of the dogs.

“I love you,” she murmurs against Renfri’s temple. “Both of you.” She squeezes Yennefer’s arm.

Renfri chuckles, soft and fond. “Love you too, Dee.”

“You know I love you both,” Yennefer mumbles, snuggling a little closer. “Despite my better judgement.”

Renfri swats at Yennefer’s hand, tickling Deidre lightly in the process. All three of them giggle. “Don’t start,” she admonishes. There’s no bite to her words at all, and when she tugs lightly at Yennefer’s hand, Yennefer leans up to accept the kiss Renfri offers her. She kisses Deidre, too, before she lays back down.

“Breakfast?” Renfri asks.

“Nah,” Deidre answers. Yennefer just hums her agreement.

“Fair enough.”

Eventually, they all doze off like the dogs, content to just hold one another until something more pressing comes up.


End file.
